Trial of Bahraini Medics is Still Flawed, Says PHR

Continues to call for qualified forensic and medical evaluations of all medics and detainees

Cambridge, Mass. - 01/09/2012

Physicians
for Human Rights (PHR) today called the trial of Bahraini medics accused of
overthrowing the regime and other felonies “severely flawed.”

Despite
allegations that the medics’ confessions were obtained through torture, the
prosecutor refused to confirm that he will drop the medics’ confessions during
today’s trial. PHR has continually called for qualified
forensic and medical evaluations of all detainees in Bahrain using the gold
standard of torture investigations – the U.N. Istanbul Protocol, which PHR
helped to develop.

“Senior
Bahraini cabinet members assured PHR that the medics would be given a brand new
trial in a civilian court and that any confessions made during detention would
be thrown out of court. What happened today proves that these were hollow
promises and this new trial appears to be a continuation of the severely flawed
military trial that first convicted the medics based on confessions that
resulted from torture,” said PHR’s Deputy Director
Richard Sollom. “Given that the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report found
evidence of torture and the prosecutor openly acknowledged the allegations of
torture in court today, all confessions must be thrown out. All medics and
detainees should be examined by a forensic expert for evidence of psychological
and physical torture.”

Over
the weekend, Bahraini border authorities refused Sollom entrance into Bahrain
to monitor the trial of medics who provided care for protestors during popular
uprisings last year.

“If
the government of Bahrain was genuinely committed to improving human rights,
they wouldn’t be blocking independent human rights observers from entering the
country,” said Richard Sollom.

The
developments in today’s trial add to the growing list of human rights concerns
in Bahrain. Today, the U.S. State Department said the government of Bahrain
should investigate reports of excessive force used against demonstrators,
following reports that Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human
Rights, was beaten by security forces responding to demonstrations last week.
Recently, continued violent attacks on demonstrators including the excessive
and inappropriate use of tear gas have also been reported.

The
medics who are awaiting trial are facing continued harassment, discrimination,
and financial hardship since they cannot resume their jobs with government or
work in the private sector.

“As
always, words are not enough when it comes to protecting human rights,” said
PHR's Chief Policy Officer, Hans Hogrefe. “Bahrain needs to act in a manner that is consistent with the
King’s promise to uphold human rights. The continued reliance on confessions
derived from torture, the lack of fair and open trails, and the continued use of
force against the people of Bahrain—these are not the signs of a government
committed to human rights.”

PHR continues to call on the Government of Bahrain to unconditionally
release all prisoners of conscience, ensure fair and open trials, and stop all
ongoing police raids and the excessive use of force against civilian
protesters.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.